Thursday links: What's up with the Big Ten QB play?

By Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, 4 years ago

Thursday links: What's up with the Big Ten QB play?

By Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, 4 years ago

Lee Barfknecht of the Omaha World-Herald has watched a lot of Big Ten football so far this season. He also has watched a lot of football during his illustrious career as a writer. And he has come to this conclusion: The quarterback play in the Big Ten in 2013 has been disappointing so far. I’m certainly not going to argue with him. In fact, the quarterback play in the Big Ten hasn’t been that good for years.

Barfknecht notes that Big Ten football was supposed to be better this season. Heck, the experts told us so this summer. And the reason for the improvement: Better quarterback play. Instead, after six weeks, Barfknecht says Big Ten football is worse than a year ago. Why? Lesser quarterback play. Where have you gone, Russell Wilson?

On a related note, Michigan is prepping for a loud Beaver Stadium not by blasting music during practice. Rather, the quarterbacks are whispering instructions. That’s an interesting twist on how to prep for a wall of sound.

***

The great David Jones of Pennlive.com thinks Michigan is probably better than it has shown so far. But Penn State? Well …

Not likely. These appear to be two teams passing in the night. Michigan is ascending, as the defensive continues to improve as the offense strives to stabilize. Penn State is descending, peppered with defensive issues and now a seeming inability to run the ball.

I hope Kill remains, too. The guy already has done wonders in a short period of time in Minneapolis. The great Sid Hartman points out that Kill took over a program that was in terrible shape. Kill and his staff subsequently have produced miracles when it comes to academics, recruiting and generating respect for the program from not only Minnesota high school coaches but coaches and players all over the country, considering the increasing success the staff has had in out-of-state recruiting.

Kill and Co., took over a program with about 40 players dealing with academic problems. The result was a number of talented football players recruited by Tim Brewster and his staff dropped out of school. I want to see Kill finish the job in the Twin Cities – and so do a lot of other people.

BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart is a veteran sports journalist who covers Big Ten football and men’s basketball for BTN.com and BTN TV. Find him on Twitter and Facebook, read all of his work at btn.com/tomdienhart, and subscribe to his posts via RSS. Also, send questions to his weekly mailbag using the form below and read all of his previous answers in his reader mailbag section.

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